Technology Tuesday: EDM Success
Cruise through this week’s Technology Tuesday slideshow to see EDM units that shops across the country have used to increase capacity and leverage greater efficiency in their processes.
Triangle Tool Corp. fortified its EDM capabilities with the purchase of four new EDM units that offer larger axis travels, faster cutting capabilities and reduced electrode usage. This automatic wire threader, standard on all Sodick wire EDM units, features a round guide with a waterjet toggle that enables Triangle Tool to machine tall parts to nearly the full Z-axis travel, whether the part is submerged or unsubmerged. Image courtesy of Sodick Inc.
Read the related feature from 2016, “Bigger, Faster EDM Capacity Yields Growth.”
Janler’s business philosophy centers on “running the operation as a business, not a shop. Janler moldmaker and EDM expert Karle Lang inspects the intricate mold details produced on the shop’s GF Machining Solutions AgieCharmilles FORM 350 SP sinker EDM unit. The company recently acquired FORM 350 SP (Speed Edition) sinker EDM unit and CUT 200 wire EDM unit. In fact, those two machines alone have allowed Janler to double its EDM capacity and more than triple its EDM department output.
Read the related feature from 2012, “Precision Mold Shop Doubles EDM Capacity and Triples EDM Output.”
Intuitive operation, “intelligent” control features, energy savings and raw performance were among the factors driving Mold Craft’s choice of new sinker and wire EDM units from MC Machinery Systems (a distributor of Mitsubishi products). Shown here is a series of electrodes for a 32-cavity mold. The EA12D sinker EDM unit’s 20-position toolchanger enables Moldcraft to burn unattended. Image courtesy of Moldcraft.
Read the related feature from 2015, “EDM Upgrades Enable Faster, Smarter Burns.”
The best way to determine the training best suited to your company is to find out what your customers need. Roach is Process Engineer/EDM - Machining/Air Flow - CMM at Siemens Energy in Rural Hall, North Carolina, which produces turbines for fossil power generation. He filled his EDM knowledge gap with training provided by Poco Graphite, a division of Entegris.
Read the related feature from 2013, “Understanding the Total Package of the EDM Production Process Is the Key to Raising Productivity.”
For Linear Mold and Engineering, wire EDM helps streamline production of inserts that are “grown” with cooling lines already inside. The MV2400-S from MC Machinery Systems (a distributor of Mitsubishi products) is Linear’s first wire EDM unit. Plans are already in the works to install additional machines, both to further support the DMLS equipment and to insource wire cutting work required for other applications.
Read the related feature from 2014, “The Intersection of Laser Sintering and EDM.”
Pushing technology to the edge is standard operating procedure for NyproMold in Gurnee, Illinois. Pete Smith, Group Leader EDM-WEDM-Graphite, explained how the addition of a new EDM unit—the Mitsubishi MV1200-R Advance Plus from MC Machinery Systems shown here—helped the shop reach new heights of efficiency and performance.
Read the related feature from 2013, “New EDM Pushes Performance and Precision.”
Mike Ryon, EDM Specialist at GW Plastics with the Sodick AG60L sinker EDM unit, which has an X, Y, Z travel of 23.62" x 16.54" x 14.57" (600 x 420 x 370 millimeters) and can accommodate workpieces up to 3,307 lbs (1,500 kg). This sinker EDM unit is also linear motor driven and comes with a 10-year positioning accuracy guarantee. What GW Plastics gained was high reliability, improved speed/throughput without sacrificing accuracy or quality and a high level of satisfaction from the operators, on all the machines.
Read the related feature from 2013, “Traditional Labor Values Meet Linear Technology.”
Six new Makino machines and updated processes enabled Innovation Mold to penetrate new markets. This Makino U6 wire EDM unit is one of two Innovation Mold purchased with guidance from Makino distributor Single Source Technologies. Innovation mold made the purchase to expand capacity and win new orders with improved quality, delivery and cost. The investment paid off, the company says, and then some, by producing more mold components faster, achieving tighter tolerances and reducing consumables costs. Image courtesy of Innovation Mold and Design.
Read the related feature from 2017, “Machinery Additions Accelerate Shop’s Growth.”
The constant need for larger, more efficient machining capability pushed Extreme Wire EDM Services to approach GF Machining Solutions for a larger wire EDM solution. This image shows the set up of a mold in Extreme Wire EDM Services’ extra-large AgieCharmilles CUT P 1250 wire EDM unit from GF Machining Solutions. This mold provides a good example of the type of drastic contours that the Grandville, Michigan company frequently cuts for its moldmaking customers. Images courtesy of Extreme Wire EDM Services Inc.
Read the related feature from 2017, “Extra Large Wire EDM Capacity Places Shop on Path for Growth.”
As European correspondent Barbara Schulz wrote recently in her International Perspective column for November, “Although it is often declared dead, electrical discharge machining (EDM) clearly continues to live and has firmly established itself within manufacturers’ process chains.” She is quite right! For this week’s Technology Tuesday, I’ve put together a slideshow of EDM units in companies across the country that MoldMaking Technology has featured in case studies. Links to the relevant articles are listed in the captions. To see more content on EDM, check out the EDM Zone.
As many of you know, MoldMaking Technology’s case studies provide real-world success stories in which the “hero” is a product or service that helped a mold-industry user solve a critical problem or address an important challenge.
Have a success story that would make for a good case study that you would like to share? Reach out to Senior Editor Cyndi Kustush at ckustush@gardnerweb.com.
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